THE LUST OF HATE

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 10530, 25 August 1897, Page 3

THE LUST OF HATE

BY GUY BOOTHBY, Author of "The Beautiful White Devil,"" A Bid for.Fortune," "Dr. Nikola," "In Strange Company," "A Lost Endeavour, tc., to., Ac.

(COPYRIGHT.)

CHAPTER VIII. „ WE ABE SATED.

The calm with which we had so' far been favoured was not, however, destined to be as permanent} as we imagined, for towards the middle of the night the wind got up, and the sea, from being as smooth as glass, became more boisterous than I altogether liked, Miss Maybouroe, who now seemed to be sunk into the lethargy from which she had roused me, lifted her head from her hands, and at intervals glanced over her shoulder apprehensively at the advancing waves. One thing was very evident • it would never do to let our boat drift broadside on to the seas, so I gob out the oars again, and to distract my companion's thoughts, invited her to take the helm. She did as I requested, bub without any sign of the eagerness she had hitherto displayed. Then, for something like an hour, we struggled on in this crab-like fashion. It was herculean labour, and every minute found my strength becoming more and more exhausted. The power of the wind was momentarily increasing, and with .it) the waves were assuming more threatening proportions. To say that 1 did not like the look of affairs would be to put my feelings very mildly. To tell the truth, I was too worn out to think of anything, save what our fate would be if by any chance we should be on the edge of an hurricane. However, I knew it would nob do to meet trouble half-way, so, by sheer force of will, I rivetted my attention upon the boat, and in thus endeavouring to avert the evil of the present, found sufficient occupation to prevent me from cross-question-ing the future. Suddenly Miss Maybourne, who, as I have said, had for some time been sitting in a constrained attitude in the stern, sprang to her feet with a choking cry. "Mr. Wrexford," she said, in a voice that at any other time I should not have recognised as hers, " I must have something to drink or I shall go mad." Fearing she might fall overboard in her excitement, I leapt up, seized her in my arms, and dragged her down to her seat again, Had I not done so, I cannot say what might not have happened. "Let ma go," she moaned. "Oh, for Heaven's sake, let- me go! You don't know what agony I am suffering." I could very well guess, for I had my own feelings to guide me, But it was my duty to try and cheer her at any cost, and upon this work 1 concentrated all my energies, at the same time keeping the boat's head in such a position that the racing seas should not overwhelm her—no light work, I can assure you. When at last 1 did succeed in calming her, she sat staring straight ahead of her like a woman turned to stone. It was pitiful to see a woman, who bad hitherto been so brave, brought so low. I put my arm round her waist the better to hold her, and, as I did so, watched the black seas, with their tips of snowy foam, come hissing towards us. Overhead the stars shone brightly, and still nob a vestige of a cloud Was to bo seen. It seemed like doubting Providence to believe that, after all, the dangers from which we had been preserved since we had left England, we were destined to die of starvation in an open boat in mid-Atlantic. And yet how like it it looked.

After that one outburst of despair Miss Maybourne gave no mora trouble, and when she had been sitting motionless beside me for an hour or thereabouts fell fast asleep, her head resting on my arm. Weak and suffering as I was, I was nob so far gone a? to be unable to feel a thrill of delight at this close contact with the woman I loved. What would I not have given to huvo been able to take her in myarms "and have comforted her properly'!— to havo told her of my love, and, in the event of her returning it, to hate faced King Death side by side as lovers. With her hand in mine Death would not surely be so very terrible. However, such a thing could not be thought of. I was a criminal, a murderer flying from justice; and it would have been an act of the basest sacrilege on my part to hare spoken a word to her of the affection which by this time bad come to be part and parcel of my life. For this reason I had to crush it and keep it down; and ii by any chance we should be rescued, I would have to leave her and go out to hide myself in the world without allowing her ever to suspect the thoughts I had had in my mind concerning her. God knows, in this alone I had suffered punishment enough for the sin I had unintentionally committed. At lust the eastern stars began to lose something of their brilliance, and within a short period of my noticing this change the wind, which had been sensibly moderating for some time past, dropped to a mere zephyr, and then died away completely. With its departure the violence of the w.u ■übsided, and the ocean was soon, if not .i.-i fsiooth as on the previous day, at least sufficiently so to prevent our feeling any further anxiety on the score of the boat's safety. One by one the stars died out of the sky, and & faint grey light, almost dove-coloured in its softness, took their place. In this light our boat looked doable her real size, but such a lonely speck upon that waste of water that it would have made the heart of the boldest man sink into his shoes with fair. From the abovementioned hue, the cr.lour'quickly turned to the palest turquoise, and again to the softest pink. From pink it grew into a kaleidoscope of changing tints until the sun rose like a ball of gold above the sea-line—and day was born to us. In the whole course of my experience I never remember to havo seen a more glorious sunrise. How different was it in its joyous lightness and freshness to the figures presented by the two miserable occupants of that lonely boat! At last Mies Maybourne opened her eyes, and, having glanced round her, sat up. My arm, when she did bo, was so cramped and stiff that for a moment I could scarcely bear to move it. She noticed this, and tried to express her regret, but her tongue refused to obey her commands. Seeing this, with an inarticulate sound she dropped her head on to her hands once more. To restore some animation into my cramped limbs, I rose and endeavoured to make my way to the bows of the boat. But, to my dismay, I discovered that I was as weak as a month-old child. My legs refused to support the weight of my body, and with a groan I sank down on the thwart where I had previously been rowing. For upwards of half an hour we remained as we were, without speaking. Then I suddenly chanced to look along the sea-line to the westward. The atmosphere was so clear that the horizon stood out like a pencilled line. 1 looked, rubbed my eyes, and looked again. Could I be dreaming, or was'it a delusion conjured up by an overtaxed brain. I shut my eyes for a moment, then opened them, and looked again. No, there could be no mistake about it this time. A ship was in tight, and heading directly for us. Oh, the excitement of that moment, the'delirious joy, the wild, almost cruel, hope that seized me! But, mad with longing though I was, I bud still sufficient presence of mind left to say nothing about my discovery to Miss Maybourne until I was sure of my facts. She was sitting with her back towards it, and therefore could not see it. So, while there was any chance of the vessel leaving us, I was not going to excite her hopes, only to have them blighted again. There would be plenty of time to tell her when she was close enough to see us. For what seemed an eternity I kept my eyes fixed upon the advancing vessel, .watching her rise higher and higher above the waves. She was a large steamer, almost twice the size of the ill fated Fiji Princess. A long trail of smoke issued from her funnels; and at last, so close did she come, I could distinguish the water frothing at her bows with the naked eye. When she Was not more than three miles distant, I sprang to my feet. ; " We're saved ! Miss Maybourne," I cried frantically, finding my voice and strength as suddenly as I had lost them. "We're saved! Oh, thank God, thank God I"- ,

. She turned her head as I spoke, and looked steadily in . the direction I pointed for nearly a minute. Then, with • little sigh, she fell upon the gunwale in a dead faint. I sprang to her assistance, and, kneeling at her feet, chafed her hands and called her by name, and implored her to speak to me. But in spite of my exertions, she did not open her eyes. When a quarter of an hour had elapsed, and she was still insensible, I began to wonder what I should do. To remain attending to her might mean' that we should miss oar deliverer. In that case we should both die. At any cost, and now more than ever, I knew I must attract the steamer's attention. She [ was not more than a mile behind us by this time, and, if I could only make her to see us, she would be alongside in a few minutes. For this reason I tore off my coat, and, attaching it to an oar, began to wave it frantically above my head. Next moment a long whistle came across the waves to me. It was a signal that our boat bad been observed, and never did a sound seem more musical to a human ear. On bearing it, I stood up again, and, shading my eyes with my hands, watched her approach, my heart beating like a piston-rod. Closer and closer she came, until I could easily read the name, King of Carthage, upon her bows. When she was less than a hundred yards distant, an officer on the bridge came to the railings, and hailed us. " Boat, ahoy !" he cried. "Do you think you can manage to pull alongside ! or shall we send assistance to you ?" In reply—for I could not trust my voice to speak—l got out my oars and began to row towards her. Short as was the distance, it took me some time to accomplish it. Seeing this, the same officer-, again hailed me, and bade me make fast the line that was about to be thrown to me. The words were hardly out of bis mouth before the line in question came whistling about my ears. I seized it as a drowning man is said to clutch at a straw, and, clambering forward, secured it to the ring in the bows. When that was done I heard an order given, and willing bands pulled ns quickly alongside.

By the time we reached it the gangway had been lowered, and a couple of men were standing at the foot of it ready to receive us. I remember leaning over to fend her off, and 1 also have a good recollection of seeing one of the men—the ship's doctor I afterwards discovered him to be— step into the boat, " Can you walk up the steps yourself, or would you like to be carried!" he asked, as I sank down on the thwart again;

"Carry the lady," I answered, huskily ; "I can "manage to geb up myself. Take her quickly, or she will die." I saw him pick Miss Maybourne up, and, assisted , by the quartermaster, who had accompanied him. carry her up the ladder. I attempted to follow, only to discover how weak 1 really was. By the exercise of sheer will, however, 1 managed to scramble up, holding on to the rail, and so gained the deck. Even after all this lapse ot time I can distinctly see the crowd of eager faces pressed round the top of the ladder to catch a glimpse of us. and I can hear again the murmurs of sympathy that went up as we made our appearance. After that all seems a blank, and I can only believe what I am told—namely, that I looked round me in a dazed sorb of fashion, and then fell in a dead faint upon the deck. When I recovered consciousness again, I had to think for a moment before I could understand what had happened. I found myself in a handsomely-furnished cabin thab I had never seen before. For an instant 1 imagined myself back again on the ill-fated Fiji Princess. Then a tall redbearded man—the tame who had carried Miss Maybourne up from the boat—entered and came towards me. Through the door, which he had left open, I could see the awning-covered promenade-deck outside. As soon as I saw him I tried to ait up an the velvet-cushioned locker upon which I had been placed, but he bade me be content to lie still for a little while.

" You will be far better where you are," he said. "What you want is rest and quiet. Take a few sips of this, and then lie down again and try to get to sleep. You have some arrears to make up in that lint, or I'm mistaken." He handed me a glass from the tray above my couch, and held it for me while I drank. When I had finished I laid myself down again, and, instead of obeying him,- began to question him'as to where I was. But once more I was forestalled, this time by the entrance of a steward carrying a bowl of broth on a tray. You see we're determined, one way or another, to close your mouth," he said, with a laugh. "But this stuff is 100 hot for you at present. We'll put it down here to cool, and in the meantime I'll answer not more than half a dozen questions. Fire away, if you feel inclined." I took him at his word, and pub the one question of all others I was longing to have answered.

" How is the lady who was rescued with me?"

" Doing as well as can be expected, poor soul," he replied. "She's being well looked after, so you need not be anxious about) her. You must have had a terrible time in that boat, to judge from the effects produced. Now what is the next Question?"

" I want to know what ship this ship is, and how far we were from the Salvages when you picked us up?" " This vessel is the King of CarthageCaptain Blockman in command. I'm afraid I can't answer your last question offhand, for the reason that, being the doctor, I have nothing to do with the navigation of the ship; but I'll soon find out for you." He left the cabin, and went to the foot of the ladder that led to the bridge. I heard him call the officer of the watch and say something to him, Presently he returned.

"The Salvages lie about seventy miles due nor'-nor'-east of our present position," he said.

" Nor'-nor'-eatt?" I cried. " Then I was even farther out in my calculations than I expected." " Why do you »Bk about the Salvages ?" "Because it was on a rock off those islands that) our ship, the Fiji Princess, was lost. We put off from the island to try and catch a sailing vessel that came in sight yesterday morning. A dense fog came on, however, and during the time it lasted we lost both the ship we went out to stop and also our inland. Ever since then we have been drifting without food or water."

" You have indeed had a terrible experience. lint you've a splendid constitution, and you'll soon get over the effects of it. And now tell me, were no others saved from the wreck ?'

"At far as we could tell, with the exception of our three selves, nob a tingle jonl." " You say ' three selves,' but we only rescued the lady and yourself. What, then, became of the third ?" "The third was a child .about eight) years old. The poor little thing mutt nave been hurt internally when we were sucked under by the sinking ship, and her condition was probably not improved by the long exposure we bad to endure on the bottom of the boat from which you rescued us. She scarcely recovered consciousness, and died en the island a short time before we left it in our attempt to catch the vessel I spoke of juat now." "I never heard a sadder case," said the doctor. " You are indeed to be pitied. I wonder the lady, your companion, came through it alive.. By the way, the skipper was asking me just now if I knew your names."

"The lady is Miss Maybourne, whose father is a well-known man at the Cape, 1 believe." •>

"Surely nob Cornelius Maybourne, the mining man ?" " Yes, she is his daughter. He will be in a terrible state when the Fiji Princess is reported missing." " I expect he will; but, fortunately, we shall be in Capetown almost as soon as she would have been, and lie will find that his daughter, thanks to your cure, is safe and sound. Now lam not going to let you talk any more. First, take as much of this broth as you can manage, and then lie down and try to get to sleep again. A I said just, now, I prophesy that.in a few days you'll be up and. about, feeling no ill-effects from your terrible adventure." (To be continued on Saturday next.)